HOUSTON DYNAMO v FC DALLAS
Wed., Aug. 23, CARL LEWIS SPORTS COMPLEX, Houston, Texas (8 p.m. CT)
It's just the first year in the Texas rivalry, but it's already become a heated one, and FC Dallas have yet to knock off their southern counterparts. FC Dallas reached the Open Cup final for the second time in club history a year ago; Dynamo haven't yet lost to the Hoops.
THE MATCHUP: This is the first time the clubs have met in the U.S. Open Cup. In addition, as the San Jose Earthquakes, that club never played Dallas in the Open Cup. ... The teams have played three matches in league competition this season, when Dynamo claiming "El Capitan" - the 19th-century Mountain Howitzer cannon awarded to the winner of the season series - with two wins and a draw thus far. Dynamo claimed a 4-3 victory in the first-ever meeting between the clubs on May 6 at Robertson Stadium (Clark 31; Ching 35; De Rosario 45, 67 - Ruiz 60; Nunez 61; Moor 76), before the clubs traveled north a week later and played to a 1-1 draw (Ruiz 19 - own goal 81). ... The teams then met just a few weeks ago, with a Craig Waibel header from a corner kick (37) the only goal of the game.
HOUSTON DYNAMO
2006 OPEN CUP: In the club's first-ever Open Cup match, Houston Dynamo advanced with a 4-2 victory against the Carolina Dynamo of the PDL (fourth tier) ... Alejandro Moreno scored a pair of goals four minutes apart in the first half, then when Ronald Cerritos made it 3-0 on 58 minutes, the match seemed over. But Wells Thompson and Randi Patterson scored 10 minutes apart to pull the Carolina Dynamo within one, but Eddie Robinson headed home eight minutes from time to put the game away. ... Here's Dominic Kinnear's team: Zach Wells, Kelly Gray, Eddie Robinson, Adrian Serioux (Chris Aloisi 85), Wade Barrett, Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark (Patrick Ianni 85), Brad Davis (Dwayne De Rosario 46), Stuart Holden, Ronald Cerritos (Chris Wondolowski 60), Alejandro Moreno. [Substitutes Not Used: Brian Ching, Kevin Goldthwaite, Pat Onstad]
IN THE OPEN CUP: This is the first-ever appearance for the Houston club in the U.S. Open Cup. But many Houston Dynamo players have considerable U.S. Open Cup experience, nearly all with the San Jose Earthquakes, who had a distinguished record in the competition. ... The Earthquakes entered the Open Cup on eight occasions, and seven times, reached at least the quarterfinals. However, they advanced beyond that stage just one time - in 2004, when they lost 1-0 to the Kansas City Wizards in the semifinals. On four occasions the Los Angeles Galaxy dumped out the Earthquakes at the quarterfinal round (2000, 2001, 2002, 2005).
FC DALLAS
2006 OPEN CUP: FC Dallas advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup with a penalty kick shootout victory against the Charleston Battery of the USL First Division, after the teams played to a wild 3-3 draw over the 120 minutes of regulation and extra time. ... Kenny Cooper scored all three goals for the Hoops, the third coming in the 119th minute, five after the home side took the lead in extra time. The Battery had equalized in second-half stoppage time, after Cooper had scored his second in the 89th minute. FCD then won 5-3 on penalties. ... Here's Colin Clarke's team: Dario Sala, Chris Gbandi, Justin Moore (Dominic Oduro 101), Alex Yi, Clarence Goodson, Marcelo Saragosa (Aaron Pitchkolan 73), Simo Valakari, Ramon Nunez, Arturo Alvarez (David Wagenfuhr 65), Kenny Cooper, Abe Thompson (Ronnie O'Brien 71)
IN THE OPEN CUP: A year ago, FC Dallas reached the U.S. Open Cup Final for the second time in club history, but this time came out on the short end of the result, falling 1-0 to the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center. ... A Herculez Gomez goal - his sixth in four U.S. Open Cup matches - stood up as the only goal of the game as the Los Angeles Galaxy claimed the Dewar Trophy for the second time. ... On their run to the championship match, the Hoops defeated the Wilmington Hammerheads (USL2) 3-1 in the third round, then defeated the Columbus Crew 3-1 in extra time in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, FCD knocked off D.C. United on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw, then reached the final with a 1-0 victory against the Chicago Fire on a 20th-minute goal from Ronnie O'Brien. The only honor in Dallas club history came in 1997, when they claimed the U.S. title, defeating D.C. United on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw in Indianapolis. ... They've reached the semifinals three other times - losing in 1996 to D.C. United, in 1998 to Chicago Fire and in 2002 to Los Angeles Galaxy. They've also reached the quarterfinals on three occasions, in 1999, 2000 and 2004.
